The eleventh round of the World Superbike Championship got underway today at the Autodromo di Imola and championship leader Carlos Checa got straight down to business, concluding the morning’s practice session in first position and the afternoon’s qualifying in second.
In the weekend’s first free practice session, which took place this morning in hot and sunny conditions (27˚C air, 33˚C track), the Althea Racing rider made a solid start and a fast time midsession projected him into first position. He continued to improve on his lap times and recorded a best in the final minute of the session. The 1m49.2 lap time was three tenths quicker than the best set by second-placed rider Haslam.
Federico Sandi, participating this weekend as a wildcard with team Althea Racing, was making good progress during this first practice session, getting to grips with the Pirelli tyres and slowly improving his times.
Unfortunately, due to a technical problem in the final phase, the young Italian had to close his session slightly early, meaning 16th place and a best time of 1m50.7.
Back out this afternoon for the first qualifying session, Carlos continued with the work, recording consistently faster times than those set this morning. His best, a 1m48.4 set in the final stages, was enough to ensure him of second position at the close of the session, just two tenths of a second behind Rea in first.
Sandi, this morning’s issues resolved, was able to make good progress, dropping his times by a good second and a half to record a best of 1m49.1. This lap time put him in eleventh position at the session’s end, with only a tenth of a second separating him from the four riders ahead of him.
Carlos Checa
“I’m pleased with how today went. We felt strong here last year but this year with the new asphalt it is a little different and we’re trying different tyre compounds to see what works best. I think we’ll find a good compromise. We’re satisfied with today’s results and tomorrow we’ll hopefully make another step up. Many people ask how I will approach this weekend but I’ll basically be doing what I do every week, concentrating on one race at a time!”
Federico Sandi:
“I am happy to tell the truth because this afternoon we were able to find good feeling with the Pirelli tyres that are all new for me with this bike. We improved a lot this afternoon compared to this morning and compared to times I’ve recorded here in the past. I am eleventh but I see that I am very close to the four or five guys ahead of me and this gives me confidence. Tomorrow we’ll continue to work to make further improvements.”
Free practice 1 results available here. Qualifying practice 1 results available here.
